Choices

This episode is solo. And something I’m going to do more of, in addition to the interviews/conversations you’ve become used to here. In this episode I’m going to answer a question I’m getting a lot lately, whether via email, linkedin messages from peers, even when I sit down to lunch with a friend in the business I haven’t seen in a few months … which is, the business decision I made earlier this...

A conversation with Jess Cook about a 20-year career within hotels & hospitality spanning iconic brands such as Butterfield & Robinson to Aman and Auberge, and eventually - due to a couple of strong life events in sequence - opening her own iconic brand in hospitality consulting and strategy. We discuss the thinking behind this pivot, and Jess' approach to deciding who to work with (and eq...

We’re doing something a little different with this one. I’m going to read you a letter. A letter I received from an independent travel agency owner. It was a letter that spurred an idea in me. I get letters like this from other advisors quite regularly, and for a long time now I’ve not really known how to kindly respond to all of them, because truth be told, I have a mentoring helpful nature about...

I really believe in travel. I believe in a gorgeous itinerary, staying in lovely places, eating beautiful food, meeting extraordinary people. I also believe in happenstance, serendipity, in the value of getting lost, of getting turned around, getting in a taxi, ‘cause there’s a conversation that can only be had with a taxi driver who isn’t trained how & when to talk to the American guest. I be...

When it comes to this conversation with Stephanie, she does a beautiful job of introducing herself, her background being born in Ecuador of an English father & an Ecuadorian mother, raised in Quito. Educated in England, she returned to Ecuador in her early 30’s on holiday with her husband Michael, at a time when they were both sort of at a crossroads in their life where they both had an appeti...

My guest this month is Tracey Harlowe, who owns a hotel representation company. Tracey & I met about a dozen years ago, traveling through Italy. We were fast friends and she's someone in our business whom I admire. She's remained for decades under the radar. Success on her own terms, never selling out. Big hotels have always called, dangling larger retainers, more exposure, more money, but she...

My guest this month is Hall Cannon. I first met Hall in 2015 while visiting New Zealand, and having the pleasure of staying in his small lodge Otahuna located near Christchurch. I wanted to sit and down and talk with Hall for a number of reasons. In this moment, and you’ll see this through the conversations I’ve recently shared, and will be sharing this year, I’m partial to the small guys and gals...

What do you do when you realize you’re no longer inspired by your job, it’s no longer challenging, it’s missing passion. It was all once there for many years, it’s what kept you so invested, doing anything it asked of you, but it no longer is what it once was. Yet you still have a lot of love for it. You thought you’d be there forever. The minute you stop growing and learning and you’re no longer...

A solo episode to cap the year where I talk about the mentors who have no idea they're mentors, why the words that were sent to me by one such mentor: “You are what I was always too afraid to be.” sparked sharing on the topic of life choices in the annual letter I send out to industry colleagues, and how response to that sparked this solo episode. We’re always where we’re supposed to be to get the...

My guest this month is my friend Chamindra Goonewardene from Sri Lanka. He oversees a portfolio of hotels on his home island, doing sales and marketing. The son of a hotelier, he spent a lot of time in hotels from his earliest years. When it came time to go to university, he came to the US and studied at Duke in North Carolina. He loved the place, the people, the experience. And almost stayed, but...

My guest this month is Angelisa Murray from Taos New Mexico. She started her career with the Four Seasons, but realized she needed to be outdoors, so moved to Alaska and led expeditions partnered with Lindblad. As life often does when you’re honestly following your interests, she received an offer to manage a heli-ski lodge in Valdez for a while… then took off to Hawaii to dive into more of the we...

Wrapping up this 3-Part Wellbeing Series this month, 3 conversations with women in my back pocket that touch on the topics of wellbeing holistically, nutrition, stress management, exercise, confidence, choices, how we look as we age, our appearance. The conversation today is with Tayler Landry, a boutique fitness studio owner & nutrition counselor in South Louisiana. I first met Tayler when I...

My guest today, Karly, specializes in nonmedical corrective skincare, facials, dermaplaning, makeup application for photoshoots, appearances, weddings, special events, and makeup lessons. She’s a believer in that good makeup always starts with good skin. Same. Our skin is our largest organ, and shows our internal health – so she drives that through first and foremost. The majority of her clients a...

I’m doing something a little different this month. I have a series of 3 conversations I’m sharing together, or releasing together at the same time. All conversations with women in my back pocket that touch on the topics of wellbeing holistically, from the inside out, nutrition, stress management, exercise, and how we look as we age, our appearance. These are themes that come up more and more in co...

My guest this month is Kirsten Gardner from right here in the United States. I’ve been popping around the world with these conversations, and I’m bringing it back home to the US for this one. After 15+ years in various roles, just two years ago in 2022 Kirsten co-founded her own travel agency called Outlier Journeys , based out of Seattle. She and her partner curate global adventures for discernin...

My guest this month is Lígia Secco. She lives in Sao Paulo Brazil, and has over a decade of experience spearheading strategic partnerships and sales initiatives in the travel industry. She is currently a Partner at REMOTE Latin America whose mission it is to cultivate a positive and lasting impact on the tourism sector through sustainable practices with importance on, probably more than ever, on e...

My guest this month is Jake Pickering , from the ultra-high-end travel and yachting brand, Pelorus. He’s worked with some of the planet’s most innovative experiential travel curators and luxury brands. I wanted to sit down and hit record with him because our conversations are interesting, different, they take unexpected turns, and are always, I find, insightful. In this conversation, we talk about...

Hello, welcome. This is your host, Lila. It’s good to be back. I took a little break from the podcast this past month to do some traveling and get some separation from the podcast to think about the future of it what I want it to be and how it can fit into my work and schedule. Update on the future of the podcast + recent travel & business of travel take-aways.

My guest today is Kemi , originally from the UK but residing in Vancouver Canada for the past 12 years. In the height of COVID, she decided to launch her own travel agency, Wells Luxury Travel, a boutique collective for advisors specializing in four key pillars: adventure, celebration, sustainability and wellness travel. In our discussion we go into her very candid business thinking behind startin...

My guest today is Sue Kasmar , from Santa Barbara California. She’s been in the travel industry since 1979, starting her career as a ticket agent for a local airline. Then she moved on to Corporate Travel for an agency in her hometown, then on to leisure advising. After battling over one too many $12 differences in Mexico or Hawaii packages, she began to feel like at that time it would be im...

My guest today is Lili who lives in Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana.  She’s many things, but I would say soul aligner sums her up best, for a mostly female clientele. She’s studied in the realms of Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Massage, Reflexotherapy, and yoga. Over the past decade, she’s delved even deeper into the tapestry of somatic work, release, energy healing, the intri...

My guest today is Judith Volker, from Holland originally but residing in Vienna. She’s a hospitality and gourmet expert, who has worked throughout Europe in many different capacities from hotel management and hotel construction management, to event organization, marketing, and communication. Her focus is to create uncommon hospitality experiences and concepts that are interesting, inspiring,...

Welcome. This is Lila and my guest today is Kornelia, the developer of naturopathic wellness treatments and wellness products, more specifically the creator of the SilberQuartzit Experience, shaped by nature, the mountains and forests of Northern Italy, where she’s from and still lives. Since her childhood she’s been fascinated by the hidden treasures of the Alps and the mysterious kno...

My guest today is Anne Biging, the visionary and CEO of Healing Hotels of the World, a collection of nearly 100 hotels in 36 countries and on 5 continents. She is also a co-founder of the HEALING SUMMIT, an annual conference for like-minded individuals to collaborate, raise awareness and inspire change for the better. This conversation is probably most suited for those interested in wellness, in h...

Travel, entrepreneurship, health, culture, spirituality. Life. I started this podcast to interview friends, peers, practitioners of modalities, and people that I meet during my time on the road with whom I fall effortlessly into deep conversation. Those whose choices born from intellect inspire us to find more balance, joy, and success. I don’t do small talk. We go deep, layers. Every one of...